


Seven Halloweens

by Kaslyna



Category: Snowpiercer (TV 2020)
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Halloween, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27320056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaslyna/pseuds/Kaslyna
Summary: Seven years; seven Halloweens Melanie celebrated during them.
Relationships: Andre Layton & Zarah Ferami, Melanie Cavill & Andre Layton, Melanie Cavill & Javier "Javi" de La Torre & Bennett Knox, Melanie Cavill & Jinju Seong, Melanie Cavill/Bennett Knox, Miss Audrey & Melanie Cavill
Kudos: 11





	Seven Halloweens

**1.**

Their first Halloween aboard Snowpiercer was, quite frankly, depressing. Melanie had heard about parties downtrain, but she was too raw to go to one-had she been invited at all, that is, which she had not been. 

Instead, Bennett, Javi, and Melanie had decided to get drunk. Now they were all on the floor of the bunk room wallowing, stewing in an endless awkward silence. They’d halfheartedly tried a few games-truth or dare, never have I ever, one other Melanie couldn't for the life of her remember the name of-before giving up; none of them were particularly in a celebrating mood.

“Well,” Javi eventually broke the quiet, swallowing.

“Well,” Melanie agreed.

Bennett sighed, “I think it’s safe to say that this was a failure.”

They all mumbled their agreements. Nevertheless, none of them moved. Bennett had his back to her closet door; Javi was straddling her desk chair with his front to the back of it; Melanie had her back against her bunk at an angle, her feet bumping against Bennett. 

Melanie lit up as she remembered something, standing, “Gimme a sec.”

Bennett scooted out of the way for her to open her closet and rummage around the shelf at the top of it. Both men watched her, brows furrowed in confusion. Melanie let out a triumphant sound as she finally found what she was looking for-a small bag of candy that felt more like a relic than actual food. 

“Are you sharing?” Bennett teased.

Melanie smirked and shrugged, “We might as well. This stuff won’t last forever.”

They settled back into their previous positions, passing the bag around. The silence that descended was less tense now that they were distracted; eventually, they talked about previous Halloweens. 

Somehow, they ended up all falling asleep on the floor-in the same positions they’d been sitting, for the most part, save for Javi who had moved to sit next to the desk instead of on her chair. Melanie woke first in the middle of the night, stumbling to use the bathroom before heading out to take the helm.

She stared into the endless expanse of white. Now that there was nothing to keep her mind from wandering, the dull ache at the thoughts of Allie that came unbidden with the holiday bloomed into something sharp and persistent.

Melanie closed her eyes, and allowed herself to remember.

**2.**

The second Halloween was much the same as the first-save for Jinju joining them in the bunk room. Though there was barely enough space for all of them, it was much more fun; the relatively short distance put between who they were before the freeze and who they were now left them slightly lighter, and Jinju’s calm presence kept them from letting their thoughts take a dark turn.

“We could play spin the bottle,” Jinju suggested from where she sat on the chair in the far corner.

“No,” Javi replied quickly.

“I’m drunk enough,” Melanie shrugged.

“Are we twelve?” Javi grumbled.

“I’m Switzerland,” Bennett replied, voice slightly slurred.

Jinju huffed, and the subject dropped as she wracked her brain for another game to suggest; she didn’t like the moroseness of the silence that inevitably settled in. Secretly though, she was relieved; the chance she’d actually get to kiss someone she could be attracted to was _slim_. Men just weren’t her type.

In the end, they settled on never have I ever. Though everyone else groaned about it-the last attempt a year ago hadn’t gone so well-it was classic, and much safer than some of their other options.

Melanie, shockingly, drank the most; Javi, unsurprisingly, drank the least. Jinju and Bennett were somewhat in the middle-but Bennett had started the game more drunk, and so was almost as far gone as Melanie. Jinju had to stop the game before anyone got alcohol poisoning, but by that point Melanie was latched onto her like a leech.

“ _Mel_ ,” Jinju shot her a stern look-as best she could from the angle they were at.

Melanie pouted, “What? I just wanted to show my appreciation for you.”

Jinju sighed, rolling her eyes and shaking her head, “You’re drunk.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t hug my friend,” Melanie insisted.

After a minute of silence wherein Jinju continued to give her a stern look, Melanie relented. She turned to look at the other people in the room, assessing.

“I’ll hug you,” Bennett eventually spoke up. 

Jinju and Javi looked at each other in mild alarm. Jinju hadn’t been around the two long enough to have seen much, but from what she’d seen tonight, she was terrified she and Javi might have to pull them apart to keep them from doing something stupid.

Melanie ungracefully shuffled across the room to him, ending up curled against his side. His arm wrapped tightly around her.

Throughout the rest of the night the two more sober people watched sharply to make sure nothing would happen that the other two would regret-but in the end, they didn’t need to. It was clear that something was there; however, it was _also_ clear that neither of them realized it yet.

Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing remained to be seen.

**3.**

The third year, Ruth convinced Melanie to go to second’s party with her. It was less pretentious than first’s, and there would be less hostility than third’s infamous nightcar party. Melanie hadn’t particularly wanted to go, but reluctantly agreed nevertheless. 

Now she stared at herself in the mirror. She was far more dressed up than she usually would have been, and wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about it; the only other times she’d dressed up on Snowpiercer were fight nights.

A knock on the door startled her, but Melanie quickly composed herself, “Yeah?”

She didn’t turn from the mirror as the door hissed open. She could see it was Bennett from the corner of her eye, and her lips twitched a little as she tried not to smile.

“You clean up nicely,” he broke the silence.

She turned to him then, raising an eyebrow, “Someone’s feeling bold tonight.”

“What can I say?” he shrugged nonchalantly, “It’s Halloween.”

“That… doesn’t even really make sense,” Melanie’s brow furrowed.

Bennett’s mouth quirked up into a small grin, “You know, I was considering attending myself, but Javi seemed to actually want to go so I took his shift.”

“That’s generous of you,” she smiled softly.

“I suppose,” he agreed easily, and waited a beat before continuing, “I’m just here to leave reports for you to go over when you have time.”

“I’ll be back early,” Melanie assured him.

“See you then,” he replied, and left.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she steeled herself to go to a party she had no desire to attend.

Somehow, it didn’t seem _quite_ as bad now that she knew she’d return to Bennett at the helm. He never minded her company on nights when she couldn’t sleep-and he was fully aware that Halloween was a difficult night for her.

It was the one night he masked his upset at her poor sleep schedule. 

**4.**

The fourth was spent in Bennett’s bed; Javi had taken the helm to give them both the night off, since Bennett had covered his Halloween shift the year prior. Melanie had been incredibly grateful, because it let them be together for the first time in what felt like too long.

The thing about a new relationship of _any_ kind, she mused as she looked at his sleeping face, was that even a _day_ could feel like too long. Three weeks was practically torture.

As if sensing her staring at him, he stirred awake. He blinked for a moment as he adjusted to wakefulness, and then smiled up at her.

“Hey,” she whispered softly.

“Hey,” he responded.

“What were you dreaming about?” she wondered aloud.

“Nothing bad,” he replied, and she let him drop the subject in favor of kissing him.

“I think this was the best Halloween I’ve had since before the freeze,” she admitted when she pulled away.

Bennett grinned, “I’ve got a gift for you actually.”

“A gift?” Melanie raised her eyebrows, “You’ve already gotten into my pants tonight.”

He chuckled softly, “What can I say? It’s been a while, and I have priorities.”

“So do I,” she murmured absently as she watched him get up and amble across the room to look for something.

“Here,” he breathed as he returned.

It was a bag of candy. Melanie asked in confusion, “Where did you-”

“Black market,” he cut her off, and she nodded.

“Right, of course,” she smiled and kissed him again, “Thank you.”

“I know Halloween is a hard day for you,” he said, then quickly added, “You don’t need to talk about it if you don't want to. But I wanted to try to make it a little better, at least.”

“You have,” she assured him. He sighed when she kissed him again after. 

The candy went forgotten for another half hour.

**5.**

Year five was spent breaking up a fight that had erupted in the nightcar. Melanie had a killer headache; she’d been looking forward to a quiet night at the helm, but alas, that would not happen. The brakemen and jackboots had sorted out the fight, but Melanie and Ruth were left to smooth relations between the witnesses.

“Ridiculous, that these people are allowed to throw a party like this,” a woman from first huffed, “This isn’t the first brawl that’s broken out.”

Melanie wanted to make a snarky comment about how there was a perfectly ‘civilized’ party she could have attended uptrain, but instead held her tongue.

Ruth, sensing Melanie was rapidly losing patience, responded, “It’s a bit better for all the classes to host their own parties, don’t you think? Sure, first can go to second or third for the thrill, and second can go to third, but this way the thirdies don’t end up crashing first’s party.”

The woman’s nose wrinkled in disgust at the thought, “Still. They didn’t pay to come on board; they were allowed on here as labor. Why should they be allowed a night off if they can’t control themselves?”

Melanie walked away to talk to other shaken passengers, leaving Ruth to deal with the woman on her own. She’d apologize profusely for it later-but for now, she could not take _one more_ comment before she snapped. 

Thankfully, the other passengers were more reasonable. Miss Audrey, however, was not; the look she gave Melanie as she passed her was colder than it was outside.

Melanie wished that she could blame the other woman. But it was times like these when she really _couldn’t_.

**6.**

The sixth year was spent like the second; Melanie, Jinju, Bennett, and Javi on the bunk room floor. This time, however, the atmosphere was much more fun-and Melanie had sat in Bennett’s lap somewhere around the second or third drink. 

They’d gotten bored of truth or dare and were in a heated discussion over what to play next. Eventually, they gave up altogether. Jinju passed around the chocolate she’d brought with her as they discussed train matters instead.

“Do you ever miss dressing up?” Javi asked randomly.

“Sometimes,” Jinju answered, “But it was never really a big holiday for me, honestly.”

“Wasn’t for me either,” Bennett added, “Dressing up was fun though.”

Melanie hummed as she burrowed her face further into Bennett’s neck, “I loved it as a kid, and then somewhere when I was a teenager it kinda lost its appeal. Got it back when I had Allie though. She _loved_ Halloween. More than Christmas, actually.”

Everyone was silent for a minute. Bennett finally broke it, “Mel…”

“What?” she frowned in confusion as she untangled herself enough to look at all of them.

“It’s the first time you’ve brought up Allie that casually,” Jinju answered.

Melanie’s face fell a little, “You’re right.”

The silence that followed was tense and awkward as Melanie struggled not to cry at the wave of emotions that realization had brought her. Bennett, sensing she was having trouble, pulled her tighter against him and let her bury her face into him to cry a little when she could no longer stop herself.

Javi and Jinju exchanged a glance of mutual understanding.

“I need to go,” Jinju announced first, “It’s pretty late.”

“Yeah,” Javi agreed, “I’ll take the helm.”

“Okay,” Melanie’s voice was muffled by Bennett’s shoulder.

Bennett mouthed thanks at both of them. Once they’d left, Melanie began truly sobbing. He held her as tightly as he could, doing his best to help her ride out the storm.

**7.**

The seventh Halloween was different from the rest. The people of the train didn't have _any_ trust in her, but Miss Audrey had insisted she come to the nightcar for the annual party anyways.

“You helped take down Wilford,” she’d implored, “Bring someone with you if you’re worried, but Layton will be there, too, and we’ll keep you safe.”

That was how she’d ended up in what costume she could scramble together last minute, entering the nightcar with Bennett. Things were still strained between them, but they were getting better now that Wilford was gone for good and they had Big Alice’s supplies to fortify Snowpiercer. He was also the only person she’d wanted by her side.

People noticed her arrival, shooting suspicious glares at Melanie. She swallowed nervously, clinging tightly to Bennett’s hand once she’d found it. He squeezed it, and gave her an encouraging smile.

“Melanie!” Layton shouted from down below, grinning in an easy way that told her he was probably already drunk.

Whatever had been happening in the crowd during her entrance dissipated almost immediately at his greeting. The people might have had little to no respect for her, but they had an infinite well of it for Layton-and if he trusted her, well, that’d be enough for them to not kick her out.

They made their way down to the bar. Zarah poured the three of them drinks, and then Miss Audrey came out from the room behind the bar.

She grinned broadly, _also_ clearly already drunk, “You came!”

“I did,” Melanie nodded.

“Good,” Audrey’s smile softened slightly, “It’ll help if you don’t hole yourself up in the engine, you know. Let people get to know you.”

“Maybe,” Melanie answered, taking her shot and grimacing.

They talked for a bit. It was somewhat awkward-especially with Zarah-but Bennett’s presence helped.

“See? This isn’t so bad,” Bennett murmured into Melanie’s ear after a while; he’d had to convince her to accept Audrey’s invitation.

Melanie rolled her eyes, ignoring him to ask Zarah, “How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” Zarah eyed her warily.

“If you need any help…” Melanie offered awkwardly.

“No offense,” Zarah replied, “Andre might trust you, but I really _don’t_.”

Melanie winced and nodded, “That’s fair.”

After an awkward beat Layton said, “Shit. I want to dance. Zarah, want to come with?”

“Sure,” Zarah agreed, relieved to have an out. The two departed.

“Well I’m supposed to be singing soon,” Audrey sighed, “So I’ll see you later.”

“We could dance, too,” Bennett suggested once she was gone.

“Why not?” Melanie shrugged, and followed him into the crowd.

Neither of them could dance sober; drunk, they were a mess. But, they were also a _fun_ mess. And listening to Miss Audrey sing as they took a break to stand against the back wall of the nightcar, Melanie _almost_ felt like she could belong there.

And later, when Bennett walked Melanie back to the engine, she let him kiss her at the door to the bunk room.


End file.
